If you looked at the 2016 CFL standings and stats sheet, then compared that data to 2015, you’d believe this year’s edition of the B.C. Lions is a completely different team.

This year they finished with a 12-6 record and will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West semifinal next weekend. Last year they went 7-11 and were demolished in the first round of the playoffs by Calgary. This year they scored 108 more points than the 2015 team and allowed 32 fewer points than Jeff Tedford’s squad.

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This year Manny Arceneaux caught 105 passes, the Lions led the league in rushing and finished tied for first in sacks. Last year, well, they were among the league leaders in starting quarterbacks with three.

So it’s been night and day for the Lions this year. But here’s the thing. When you look up and down the roster, it’s virtually the same players who couldn’t beat an egg last year. The secondary is different, largely because of injuries. And the offensive line has been revamped. But it’s not like the Lions completely altered their team.

So why are they so much better?

This question isn’t as difficult as it sounds.

“Honestly, I didn’t have a vision for this team because I didn’t know what we had,” Wally Buono answered when he was asked if he saw this coming in training camp.

“I knew we wanted to be bigger and more physical. We drafted that way and we built that way so I think we succeeded there. But a lot of people have had a hand in this.”

Maybe, or maybe that turnaround started with the new/old head coach who restored order and purpose to a team that looked lost last year and maybe it’s that simple.

Saturday, the Lions completed their bounce-back season with a 41-18 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders which was notable because:

A) no one was hurt;

B) it insured second in the West and the host’s spot next weekend;

C) Paul McCallum, the primordial placekicker, went four-for-four on his field goal tries, and;

D) a season-high crowd of 26,481 was in attendance.

True, they beat a Riders’ team which played played three quarterbacks, none of whom were Darian Durant, who were also finishing off a miserable 5-13 season. But the Leos still took care of business in an efficient, timely manner which, come to think of it, is the way they’ve conducted themselves this season.

And that starts with Buono.

Again, in looking over this Lions’ season, it’s not like the head coach reinvented his team, rather he made personnel improvements in a couple of spots, added to the team’s depth and held everyone accountable while leaning on his veterans to enforce his standards.

Revolutionary it wasn’t. Impactful it was.

It helped the organization uncovered Jonathon Jennings, who went over 5,000 yards on the season agains the ‘Riders. But given Buono’s track record in developing quarterbacks, it’s fair to say Jennings’ growth has been accelerated by both the Lions’ system and the weapons he’s been given.

That offensive line, for example, was a disaster last season while employing three imports, but this year Cody Husband was moved to centre and rookie Antonio Johnson has been a find at right tackle and the unit has been rock-solid. Last year, Manny Arceneaux was pretty good and Bryan Burnham was the third or fourth option in the passing game. This year, Arceneaux has been all-world — two more touchdowns on Saturday giving him 13 on the year — and Burnham has been a revelation with 1,392 yards receiving yards.

Last year, Andrew Harris ran for 1,000 yards and he remains an elite running back. But, in his boldest stroke, Buono let Harris walk to Winnipeg and went to a platoon with Jeremiah Johnson and Anthony Allen and, with Chris Rainey supplying an X-factor, the Lions’ ground game improved.

Again, there was nothing seismic in any of those moves but they all represented upgrades and all put the players in the best position to succeed.

It’s been a slightly different story on defence where injuries to defensive backs Ronnie Yell and T.J. Lee caused some anxious moments. But the secondary has settled down over the last three games and the insertion of Bryant Turner into the front-four rotation has added size and pop to the group.

The only question left for the Lions, in fact, is are they a championship-calibre team and they begin that examination next Sunday.

Whatever else he is, Jennings is still a 24-year-old who’s in his first full season as a starter and his inexperience showed at times this season. The Lions, has a team, haven’t won a playoff game since the 2011 and they meet a vastly improved Winnipeg team in the semi with the all-powerful Stampeders waiting in the final.

But they also have the look of a team that’s peaking at the right time and, in the CFL, that’s everything. They’ve also got a coach who’s been to a couple of rodeos in his time.

Don’t expect any miracles over the next couple of weeks. Do expect them to be prepared and professional and you know who’ll give them that.

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